A tilting automatic pouring apparatus has been used as one type of automatic pouring apparatus. For example, tilting automatic pouring apparatuses described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H11-207458, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H11-342463, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-16708, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-244504 are known as the tilting automatic pouring apparatus. Such a tilting automatic pouring apparatus tilts a ladle accumulating a molten metal, and thus, allows the molten metal flowing out from a discharge port of the ladle to flow into a mold through a sprue of the mold.
In such a tilting automatic pouring apparatus, it is necessary to allow the molten metal flowing out from the discharge port of the ladle to accurately flow into the sprue of the mold. For example, technologies described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-272802, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-224631, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-188760 are known as a technology for allowing the molten metal to accurately flow into the sprue of the mold.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-272802, it is described that a dropping position of the molten metal in a height position of the sprue of the mold is calculated from a dropping trajectory of the molten metal flowing out from the discharge port of the ladle, and the position of the ladle is dynamically controlled such that the dropping position is coincident with the position of the sprue of the mold, and thus, the molten metal accurately flows into the mold. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-224631, it is described that the position of the ladle is dynamically controlled by the same method as the method described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-272802, and then, a dropping position of an actual molten metal is measured by an optical sensor, and according to the result, the position of the ladle is corrected. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-188760, it is described that the dropping position of the molten metal is calculated by the same method as the method described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-272802, and the ladle is transported such that the dropping position is a target position and a height position of the discharge port based on the sprue of the mold is a low position.